~ The Wooded Way ~

The name ‘GAIA’ was originally the name attributed to the Greek 'Earth Goddess' or 'Mother Earth’. It is a name that recognises the Earth as being a living, breathing, conscious entity in her own right … not a symbol, idol, or any other representation of the Earth, but the Earth in actuality as a manifest form. Gaia is, in truth, our only manifest Deity with whom we interact every day of our lives … whether we are conscious of it or not.

“… a living, breathing, conscious entity in her own right?” Many people of course feel that this is a ridiculous concept and, certainly when the highly acclaimed Scientist James Lovelock first floated his Gaia hypothesis to the Scientific Community in 1979, it was greeted with a combination of ridicule, disbelief and anger, with very little support. Since that time, however, more and more reputable members of the scientific community have, as with the birth of Charles Darwins' theory of evolution, been forced to take a more serious look at the concept of the Earth being alive.

Today, James Lovelocks' original Gaia hypothesis has now been accepted as GAIA THEORY with a number of core conditions that determine whether or not something has independent life having been met. The most notable of these is the ability of Gaia to self-regulate her own body temperature in response to relatively extreme temperature changes that occur as a result of the effects of solar radiation (due primarily to the increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere). There is even a suggestion currently under discussion that Gaia not only responds to such occurrences … but also largely pre-empts and prepares for them before they actually happen.

The only 'grey' areas left unanswered in terms of whether we can begin thinking of Gaia as an independent life-form in her own right (at least as far as the scientific community are concerned), are the questions of whether Gaia actually 'thinks' or has 'consciousness' and, strangely, whether Gaia has the ability to reproduce. There are, of course, billions of stars dying and being born every day throughout the ever-changing universe and Gaia will also, one day, die and be transformed. It is, however, fairly arbitrary to suggest that the birth and death of stars and their associated planets is a form of ‘reproduction’, despite being a process that ensures the continuity of such star forms.

But what of the question of 'thought'?. Does Gaia think? Is she conscious of us?

This is the enigma of the term ‘GAIA CONSCIOUSNESS’. On one level it suggests our conscious awareness of Gaia, and yet on another level, it also suggests Gaia’s conscious awareness of us.

Ironically, this same question has been around, albeit in another form, since long before James Lovelock was even born. The question being “is evolution a process that requires intelligence, or is it simply a question of cause and effect or 'natural selection'?”

There are many scientists who, upon making in depth studies of the many processes of evolution, have concluded that much of what we see on Earth today, could only have evolved as a pre-considered process, and that a significant part of that consideration had to include the symbiotic relationship of all living things. This relationship we now call the 'balance of nature' whereby all things exist in a harmoniously balanced relationship with each other.

So, if evolution is, as has been suggested, a process that requires decisions to be made, who or what makes those decision? The obvious answer is, of course ‘GOD’ and that evolution is his creation process in action. But can the answer not only be God … but also Gaia as being the facilitator of that divine intelligence? Can we not equally conclude that if God, the Father, is the nature of all that exists throughout the universe, then Gaia, the Mother, is the nature of all that exists on Earth as a part of God?

GOD, the Father … GAIA, the Mother … WE (all life on Earth), the Children of their sacred union.

GAIA CONSCIOUSNESS then, suggests a whole range of questions that need to be explored. What is our relationship to Gaia? What was the original intent behind the evolution of our kind? Can we commune directly with Gaia and, thus, with God through the avenue of Gaia? In addition, if we were only to recognise the possibility that Gaia is a living, manifest entity of which we are all a part, how does that affect the very manner of how we choose to live on Earth, both as individuals and as a species? What are our real obligations to Gaia, the rest of life on Earth, and to each other?

The implications of a Gaia Conscious understanding of life are enormous. The very thought that we are actually individual cells of a much greater being is staggering, and yet, this thought is becoming increasingly evident.

James Lovelock and others, including an equally important colleague in the recognition of Gaia theory, the eminent microbiologist Lyn Margulis, have shown how the vast rainforest, reefs, wetlands and even algae-ridden swamps of the Earth are actually the very organs of the body of Gaia. The rivers are her arteries, and so on. It is these organs that allow Gaia to breath and regulate her body temperature to sustain her ... our ... life. It is, thus, as imperative that they be maintained as it is for us to look after our own respitory system.

Our species has evolved to be given the unique gift of choice and free will as a part of our activity within the body of Gaia. This capacity suggests that our true function is one of direct communion (not dominion) with all forms of life on Earth and, thus, with Gaia. Even James Lovelock himself has postulated on the possibility that the true function of humankind on Earth, as part of the Gaian cycle of life, could well be that of a vast Gaian ‘mind’, giving her the power to dream, imagine and create. Perhaps it is humankind that is the initial vision behind the evolutionary process. Perhaps when Australia’s Aboriginal people refer to the ‘dreamtime’, they mean precisely that. Certainly, there are many spiritualists who have propounded the concept that we have the power to manifest our dreams ... and our nightmares.

We are quite possibly a vital part of the mind of Gaia, yet, like the T-cells in our own bodies, we have become her cancer. We have become parasites on the body of Gaia ... the very body that created and sustains us. She is our Mother.

Currently, James Lovelocks’ Gaia theory is largely contained within the bio-spheric ‘skin’ of Gaia. According to Lovelock, it is the symbiotic relationship of all living things on Earth that control such things as weather conditions that, in turn, maintains the biosphere in a relatively constant condition to sustain life, and thus, itself. In his view, there is no apparent connection between the life of Gaia and the concept of the universal consciousness of God.

However, when you look into the work of other people, doctors, scientists, physicists, spiritualists, artists, etc, in a wholistic manner, it is not hard to determine a link between biospheric life and the Earth’s own geomagnetic energy field.

Contained within our own bodies, and indeed all living things, are a diverse number of energy interactions. These include our own Bio-magnetic energies that are utilised by medicine in various medical body scans to determine illness. These energies expand beyond the outer skin of our bodies making scanning possible, however, there is also a constant exchange of energies going on between our own bio-magnetic field and the geo-magnetic field of the Earth. It is this exchange of energies that link us to all other living things on Earth, and, indeed, to Gaia herself. It is through these energies that Gaia communicates with all life in order to maintain a symbiotic balance and, likewise, it is through these energies that we can communicate withe Gaia ... not in words, but through the energies we give off.

It is a fact that all living things respond positively to the energy of Love, and it is Love that we must also share with Gaia herself in order to communicate. If you share your love with Gaia, she will share her love with you, and that her love is the combined love of all life on Earth and throughout the universal life of God ... but who or what is ‘God’.

We are wholly linked to Gaia through our bio-magnetic field being connected to her geo-magnetic field, which, in turn, is connected to the energies of the whole universe that maintain the balance of stars creating vast galaxies, etc. Thus, we are actually ‘organelles’ of a single planetary cell of a living universe we call ‘God’. Just as we are cells of Gaia, she is a part of a solar system that is part of a galaxy that is a cell of the body of God. She could not live without the energies of the sun and our sun could not continue without the interaction of cosmic energies and gases that sustain it.

In alchemical terms, it is the light of the sun that carries a ‘substance’ called ‘Prana’ that is the matter of life itself. It is the extraction of Prana caught in the vapour of the air as the suns rays pass through the atmosphere that the laboratory processes of alchemy are all about. Prana is the ‘elixir of life’, the ‘Mothers milk’ and the ‘Philosophers’ Stone’ referred to in alchemy and is the living essence of the universal soul of God.

Through the work of a number of physicists and mathematicians throughout the world, science has now been able to determine the ‘shape’ of our universe. It is not an ever-expanding ball of matter in an empty void as was once believed and, likewise, it is not a linear universe whereby all matter is in a straight, harmonically vibrating line as was also once believed. The universe is actually a vast, rippling membrane or ‘skin’ and our solar system is a single ‘atom’ of that membrane. Galaxies actually are universal ‘cells’ creating a membrane that is a macrocosm of all other forms of life as we know it. The same physicists and mathematicians have also determined that our own universe is simply one of many ... but how many? Our bodies are made up of billions of cells ... are there also billions of universes made up of billions of galaxies, in turn made up of billions of stars? Does our universe, along with many others, if viewed from a vast distance, become the very material body and form of God? Certainly our universe actually has the appearance of an organic skin .

In light of this knew knowledge then, is it not equally conceivable that we might also discover life exists on the very electrons of atoms ... that the atomic world is also a vast, microcosmic combination of universes that become our own bodies. Of course, this is all highly speculative ... and yet undeniably conceivable in light of our current knowledge

This is the complete nature of Gaia Consciousness. The awareness that, just as we are not alone (there is no true individuality), Gaia is not alone in the universe ... and our universe is not alone either! All things are held in place by the same vast interaction of energies and those energies do actively respond to the energy of love. Love your-self; share your love with all living things and with Gaia and, through Gaia, with the universal nature of God

This is the true ‘oneness’ of, and with, all that exists.

The Wooded Way Association for Gaia Conscious Living is being formed to explore these and other questions and implications related to the realisation of Gaia. We have far more questions than we do answers, however, enough is known to begin the process of forming Gaia Conscious communities with the intent of returning to living in oneness with Gaia. Returning to the arms of the Mother of us all.

The first Wooded Way seed community is already being planned and will be named EARTHEART - A GAIA DREAMSPACE & TEMPLE OF GAIA. This community will be, in essence, a form of monastic order of Brothers and Sisters of the Wood (the first Order of the Wood), however, in support of these initial ‘explorers’ of Gaia Consciousness, an expanded community of organic farmers, builders, technicians, teachers, health workers, etc sympathetic to the journey towards Gaia Conscious living is also planned. It is the intent behind the formation of the Order of the Wood to explore all avenues to Gaia Consciousness and the true role of humankind in the Gaian cycle of life, then to develop ways of living harmoniously as a functioning aspect of Gaia, rather than her dis-ease.

However, all of us can begin taking steps towards Gaia Conscious living in our homes and lifestyles right now. We can simply give thanks to Gaia for the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. We can live more conscious of waste and live more environmentally sustainable lifestyles.

Most importantly of all ... we can begin practicing acts of direct communion with Gaia through guided meditations and practices that enhance the exchange of energies with Gaia through acts of sharing and love for all life ... and we can begin interacting with each other with love and in the true spirit of kinship and community as brothers and sisters, with Gaia as our ever-nurturing Mother, and God, our Father who has always provided for us.

This is to-gaia-ness